Spin
by Ksrjah
Summary: When everything about Lucy intensifies and changes for Natsu he starts to look at her in another light. What does Gajeel have to say about this?
1. Chapter 1

Spin

The guild bustled with a type of life that could be only found within the walls of Fairy Tail, but for a certain Pink haired dragon slayer at that specific space in time couldn't have been moving any slower. Natsu blinked hard, reaching up a hesitant hand to touch the soft skin of his partner's face.

"Lucy, you look…different." The words pushed through parted lips without his permission, but he didn't care because he spoke of the truth. She must have done something different to her hair, maybe she used a different shampoo. All he knew was that she smelled wonderful, and she looked like a new light shone over her. She smiled at him, and the effect sent his brain into a whirling mess of mushy thoughts and dizzying images.

"Really?" She looked down at herself, frowning, "I didn't do anything differently this morning.

He took a step closer, eyes growing more intense at the proximity. Despite himself, everything (the sounds, the smells, the people) fell away, leaving him alone with her. Her scent, which had always been nice, filtered in through his nostrils and gripped whatever was left of the sensible part of his mind, forcing it into submission. With a head full of clouds, a nose full of a scent that only served to draw him closer to her, and sense of vertigo like no other, Natsu leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a firm, yet sweet kiss.

Gasps broke out around him, and like a splash of cold water to the face everything came back into focus. He pulled away, wide eyes meeting the surprised browned ones of his best friend.

"Oh my god," She whispered, her face going pale for all of two seconds before an angry blush painted its colors over her cheeks, "What?" She seemed unable to put together any further words.

Looking off to the side, he fought down the force of his own blush crawling up his neck. "Uhhh," He didn't know what to say. How could he explain himself when he didn't even know what got into him.

"Well, well, well," A feminine, slurred voice broke the tense moment, "Look who finally grew some balls!" Cana's crude remark triggered various cheers and cat calls of agreement.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the narrow eyes of Gajeel Redfox eying him. The iron dragon slayer wore a smug smirk on his lips as he spoke. "I think we have to have a little talk. Sorry Bunny girl but I need to steal your Romeo away for a while." He snickered at Lucy's poor excuse for a flustered rebut.

"Come Salamander, we have a lot to speak about."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Levy coming up behind Lucy. He never got to see the blue haired book worm confront her as Gajeel tugged him of the guild by the ends of his scarf.

AN: This short story originated on Tumblr as a free write. It will be continued their daily as a warm up for my actual writing. I also have other pieces of writing there so you guys should check it out! My penname is the same as on this site: Ksrjah. Also, updates for this story will be put up a day earlier than on FF!


	2. Chapter 2

Natsu settled his uncertain glare on Gajeel's back. It bothered him that the other dragon slayer seemed to know something he didn't. Natsu prided himself in being aware of his surroundings, _his Nakama_, more so than not. He could tell when he upset someone, when someone became angry, or when someone happened to be happy. Especially if that someone was Lucy. But in this situation Natsu had to wave the metaphorical white flag because he could figure most things out about his Nakama fairly quickly. But that didn't mean he was as efficient in dealing with himself.

"Salamander," Gajeel faced him, a cocky air to his confident stance, "Have you noticed how close Levy and I had gotten?"

In truth, Natsu had. When it first started a couple months ago he suspected that something might be going on between the two (Yes, Natsu did notice changing relationships and altering feelings, he wasn't stupid contrary to popular belief). After a week of obvious hand brushes and blushing faces he learned to ignore it. Now he wondered if that was a good idea after all.

"Yeah, I remember." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Gajeel let out one of his odd 'gihihihi' laughs. It sounded almost embarrassed to Natsu, but he must have just imagined it. "Well, it started with the squirt smelling real good to me. Like she used extra perfume or something. Sound familiar?"

When he came up to Lucy Natsu almost fell over at the strength of her scent. It had made him so dizzy that his common sense (and yes, contrary to popular belief again, he did have some) slipped down the drain in a moment of complete lapse in control.

Gajeel didn't wait for his reply anymore. "Now that I think about it, it all begun a week _before_ the smell shit happened. Before that I started being more aware of the squirt. Watching her, following her, making sure nothing or no one tried to harm her," He snorted, "Back then I'd been so fucking confused. Half the time I didn't realize I was being possessive and shit."

Natsu always did things like that for Lucy, right from the beginning. He pretty much forced her to be a part of his time, broke into her house on occasion, brought her onto every job he did so he could keep an eye on her (whether she knew that or not), and as of lately he found himself walking with her from place to place. Befuddled, Natsu nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well it just starts there bud. You've got a rude awaking coming for you. I won't ruin the surprise though. No, I want to watch every priceless second of your fumbling. But Squirt wanted me to give you a talking to so I'll give you a couple hints. First off, don't try to fucking avoid bunny girl after this-believe me it only makes things worse for you. She'll try to find comfort in some bastard's arms and you'll go all homicidal because unlike me, you have a self control issue."

Natsu gritted his teeth. "I do not you metal head freak!" He hissed, shifting in an offensive stance.

"Yeah," Gajeel eyed him with a hint of amusement; crossing his arms he continued his explanation "Right. Second off, hold back a little. Things are going to get real bizarre real fast for you. Keep yourself in your right mind until Bunny girl's ready."

Confusion. Natsu's mouth hung open in such vast confusion he swore it was spilling out of his ears. "What does that even mean?" He wrinkled his nose because what the actual hell? Gajeel made it sound like Natsu was going to become a beast or rapist soon or something.

Gajeel ignored him. "And my last tip-don't screw this up Salamander or you'll regret it."


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the week passed with little to no more incidents between him and Lucy. Natsu made extra sure of that. No matter how hard his body yearned for something more physical, Natsu kept his guard up and his thoughts on a friendly relationship. Although he did put a couple of his questions to rest with help from _Cana _of all people during the time that'd past.

The day after his conversation with Gajeel found him in a lull of awkward tension between him and Lucy. The fact that his attitude towards Lucy ventured passed the boundaries of the average best friendship scared him. Natsu prided himself in not being the type to get hung up on romantic situations, and with that being said, Gajeel's words about being over protective and possessive hit him hard because they rung so true to him. He'd always put his actions up as a worried friend, but now, what with his new perspective of Lucy, Natsu realized that he may be in deep, _deep_ shit.

On the third day after Gajeel's talk, he began to find spending time with Lucy hard because whenever he got close to her the intensity of her scent would fog up his words and jumble his mind. It took a full day of fumbling and keeping an arm's length away from her for help to finally arrive. It came to him in the form of a punchy drunk woman wearing a bikini.

He remembered the way Cana had stormed up to him mere seconds after he returned to the guild after walking Lucy home. She'd had an odd totter to her walk, and her gaze, smoldering with poorly concealed amusement, met his as she aimed a hard punch at his bare shoulder with the Fairy Tail logo on it.

After a good amount of teasing and rude remarks she got around to actually giving him advice on the matter. Well, after she forced him to spill _every single detail_ about his feelings for the blonde (even the mushy thoughts). She told him to 'hang in there 'cause only weaklings give up on love'. To this day Natsu only understood the 'hang in there' part.

Another day turned to night, and after one more walk to Lucy's apartment, Cana gave him another piece of advice. At first, Natsu didn't want to hear it because she hogged Lucy for the majority of the day and _damn it_, Natsu didn't like that! Cana shut him up pretty quick though. Apparently most of that conversation had been about _him. _That made him happier. According to the card mage Lucy was still pretty confused over the kiss thing, and freaked out because he hadn't brought it up since.

Looking back on it, and if roles were reversed, Natsu could seem himself being freaked out too if he'd been kissed by her instead. A pang of guilt hit his chest at the thought. Silently, he resolved to fix that tomorrow morning when he went to escort her to the guild.

But he had bigger fish to fry because Cana had told him to kiss her again to make her see that the kiss wasn't an accident or a slip up, and he had full intention to follow her orders right before he explained himself tomorrow.

The thing was, tomorrow was today, and he currently stood frozen to his spot in her bedroom, the wide open window behind him chilling off the hot room. The smile that he normally plastered to his face as he greeted her slipped away because this morning seemed like everything but normal.

And no, he'd not walked in on her in a towel or anything. Been there, done that, the end. Things like that never left him speechless or out of sorts. For the love of god, he _bathed_ with _Erza_. Seeing Lucy in a towel was nothing compared to that.

But _bathing_ with _Lucy_ would be an entirely different experience.

He forced himself to blind, and when he did, he then forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. Lucy stood a couple feet away from him, clothed and looking as good as she did every day, but what had him so wound out had nothing to do with how she looked.

No, it had everything to do with the way she walked, the way she sounded, the way she smelled. Her normal cute saunter seemed more determined, more confident and everyone knew he liked a confident woman. Then, every breathe she took sent a shiver down his spine. Every exhale leaving hit goose bumps on his skin. He could hear every intake and exhale, every beat of her heart.

Like running into a brick wall head first, her scent hit him. It made his eyes water, his mouth dry out, and it seemed so different from the other scent that shoved him into a dizzy haze. This one made him more aware of her, it made things stir inside him.

He exhaled shakily, nodding at her morning greeting. So much for Cana's advice. There was no way he could get any closer to her without something…bad happening. He could feel it in every bone in his body.

Could this be what Gajeel had deemed the 'surprise'?

If it was, then he planned on beating that bastard senseless if he made it to the guild in one piece. Surprises were supposed to be fun, this wasn't fun! He didn't know how to handle this. He couldn't even look Lucy in the eyes!

"Come on Lucy," He rumbled at her, eyes on the door, "I'll meet you outside."

He jumped back up onto the windowsill, but before he could jump Lucy replied. "Why the rush? Don't you want breakfast?"

Her voice made it hard not to turn around and ravish her. Like really hard. Before this, all his feelings had been bearable and still mostly innocent. He scowled. "We can eat at the guild. I have a fight to pick with an Iron Dragon Slayer."

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Hey guys! Quick announcement (this will be on all my updates of all my stories for a while).

So, as of now, we've agreed to break the 'joint account status' because I'm the only one writing in it. Although Kora might come around every once in while. So there will be a good amount of changes in my profile SO CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE THERE IS A POLL.

FORT is coming closer to its end, T.T and I'm trying to decide my new project after it. There will be summaries/info in the options in my profile so you should look at those. Please PLEASE PLEASE vote.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of spin! Any thoughts about what's got Natsu being all weird about Lucy? And why are all those changes happening to Lucy?


	4. Chapter 4

Natsu paced back and forth, hands clasped behind his back and brow pinched in aggravation. Every once in a while he'd cut a sharp glare at Gajeel, who sat cross legged underneath a tree, arms crossed and face set in an half amused, half bewildered expression. Natsu growled at him, gritting his teeth as he kicked a rock and sent it flying a good distance away.

"So Salamander, what brings you to my little hiding spot?" It'd taken Natsu more than an hour to track Gajeel down, and each second that passed without finding him only stoked Natsu's fury. Ironic, that now that he stood in front of the other dragon slayer a growl was all he could manage. Anger did funny things to people.

"How couldn't you tell me about that so called _surprise_? It's not fun, or funny, or even _interesting_." Natsu finally grounded out, eyes flaring.

Gajeel blinked. "Wait, you figured the surprise out already?" Uncrossing his legs, he brought them to his chest, leaning an elbow on them as he leaned forward.

Natsu snarled deep down in his throat. "Of course I did! Why do you think I'm here? It's not like I enjoy talking to you!" He shook his head at the thought. Who would rather stick his hand in one of Mirajane's drink makers that crushed ice than voluntarily talk to Gajeel. Unless it ended in a brawl.

"Hmmm, then how did you not have fun? Did she not like it or something?" Gajeel looked up in the tree when something begun to rustle in the leaves. A bird poked its head out, cawing like he didn't appreciate the noise. Natsu supposed that not many people came this far into the forest often.

"Dud she not like what?" Natsu asked, bewildered, was Gajeel trying to be funny?

The iron mage gave him a confused look. "The sex you idiot."

Despite common belief, Natsu actually had a good handle on that type of stuff. Not from experience, don't make him laugh. He overheard a lot of bar talk, and as soon as he got the birds and the bees talk from a drunken Gildarts when Natsu turned fourteen he started actually listening to the dirty stories, and even mentally taking some notes. So yes, he knew exactly what Gajeel meant.

So instead of acting like a bumbling idiot, he settled for a sputtering one. "W-What? We did_ nothing_ like that, what are you even talking about?" Natsu vehemently denied, eyes wide as his pacing came to an abrupt halt.

Gajeel scoffed, fingers rubbing his temple. "Of course, I should have known you wouldn't get that far so quickly." He rolled his eye, mumbling something that even with his heightened hearing, Natsu couldn't make out any other word besides stupid. This made him bristle a bit, but he didn't comment on it.

"So if by surprise you meant _that_, then what the hell is going on with Lucy?" Natsu gripped the ends of his hair, groaning in frustration.

"Why don't you tell me?"

So Natsu did, he spoke about Lucy's changes in smell, and how it did _things _to him. Or how she moved less like prey and more like the one doing the hunting. It had him all sorts of flustered, and after the walk from her house to the guild he'd almost snapped _nine times_. She would brush up against him just so, and what with that knot coiling up in his stomach-Mavis knew every thought in head yearned for a more intimate touch than the bush of her arm on him.

After his heated explanation, Gajeel remained quiet for one…two….three seconds before loud, boisterous laughter rattled the peaceful wilderness of the forest. Confused and embarrassed, Natsu lit his hand on fire, leering down at Gajeel threateningly.

Struggling to get his obscene laughter under control, he sat up straight. "Gihihi, you have the shittiest luck, Salamander. Like this couldn't have happened at the worst moment." Gajeel huffed, still shaking with silent laughter.

"What couldn't have happened at a worse time?" Natsu bit out. This wasn't a laughing matter, "Look Gajeel, when you went through this Levy wasn't your _best friend_. Sure you guys were close and all, but you weren't in danger of losing the person you've grown the closest to since your father left you. I am, and I could really use some actual help from you. I would have asked someone else, but oh wait, there is no one else I could ask!"

Gajeel sighed, scoffing. "Don't get your panties in a twist. You're not gonna lose bunny girl. You're her best friend too, you know," Gajeel replied gruffly, returning to his slumped, unimpressed demeanor, "But to answer your question, I think bunny girl went into heat." He stated, a smug grin stretching across his ugly mug.

"Girls can go into heat?" Came Natsu's disgruntled reply. He never thought about it…but he guessed it made sense.

Gajeel looked like he wanted to smack him. "Of course they do, humans are nothing more than overrated animals. But there is a catch. I think there's only one heat per year for a human that changes their scent and stuff dramatically, enough for people like us to notice it. You're just lucky I'm the only dragon slayer in the guild. I'm taken. But if there was another male dragon slayer in the guild, Lucy would seem more…interesting because you're interested in her. Even if he wasn't actually attracted to her."

Natsu begun to pace again. "So, what does that mean for me?"

"The next couple days are going to be very…_fun_ for you."

Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that the next few days were going to be anything but _fun_ for him.

* * *

AU:

So I think I might make a separate short story after a finish this about the part with Lucy going into a special kind of heat while at the Grand Magic Games. Just sayyyying.

Thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate every single one of them!


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